Western Connecticut State University
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Behind Closed Doors
Abstract
This is a creative play meant to inform and entertain anyone curious about working in an office environment. The play centers on an office romance set in a local advertiser tabloid newspaper. There is an element of comic relief brought on by the characters Steve and Dave. Steve sees Dave as a sort of mentor and follows Dave's lead as they try to uncover hard evidence that Andrea is having a love affair with Ray, the office manager. The affair gains Andrea preferential treatment in sales commissions and Steve and Dave suffer as a result of this situation. Throughout the play, the character's actions take place behind closed doors. By the end of the play, it is made clear to the audience that what we do behind closed doors is inevitably brought out into the open
A Call to Arms to Grieve Over Themselves: Chinese Intellectual Trends in the Early Twentieth Century
On August 11, 1872, the Chinese government sent a total of 120 young men, who ranged from seven to thirteen years old, to the United States of America for fifteen years of study. The Chinese government paid stipends to these young students and certified that their degrees would be treated in a way analogous to those of the traditional Chinese examination system. As a consequence, the modern Chinese enlightenment movement started, and the millennia-old Chinese traditional educational system - as well as the neo-Confucian thought that undergirded it - was challenged, and generations of Chinese youth had the opportunity to be exposed to, and sometimes to resist, Western Culture and society. At the same time, this action also was a de facto concession by the Qing dynasty that the once-proud Chinese nation had already been left behind by the world and specifically by the West. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Chinese intellectuals could decide either to keep traditional systems of thought and education or they could learn Western thought and technology. This study examines the literature and writing of key scholars in the early twentieth century who embraced the movement to acquire ideas and technological expertise from the West, and particularly from the United States of America. It argues that such a reform was necessary, but that the tendency of these reformers to focus excessively on self-criticism and self-pity, lamenting and criticizing the lack of prior progress in China, actually inhibited the application of new ideas, leading to a century of excessive political chaos.Master of Arts (MA)Histor
THE EFFECTS OF VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES ON READING ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS WITH VARYING LEVELS OF MOTIVATION
This study examined the effects of the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) curriculum on reading achievement of students with various motivational levels. A 2X2 factorial design was used. The sample population consisted of 104 fourth grade students from an upper middle class school system in Connecticut. All students were administered a Motivation to Read Profile to measure their levels of motivation. Form S of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test served as a pretest to measure reading achievement prior to treatment. The pretest score was used as a covariate to control for initial reading levels. Both the experimental and the control groups received traditional reading instruction, but the experimental group’s instruction was supplemented with nine weeks of the Visual Thinking Strategies curriculum. A posttest using Form T of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test was administered to both groups after the instruction to measure reading achievement.
A two-way Analysis of Covariance was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that students who were instructed with Visual Thinking Strategies did not perform better than students instructed without it. Although students with low motivation did not perform significantly better when VTS was used as the instructional method, there was a significant main effect of motivation on the comprehension subtest for highly motivated students. The educational implications of these results are discussed.Doctor of Education (EdD)Education & Educational Psycholog
Afghanistan War Veteran
Member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry deployed to Afghanistan. Described his experiences working for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the North Eastern part of Afghanistan.Recorded by Mary Gleeson uploaded for her by Brian Liebel
A new species of Castelnavia (Podostemaceae) from Tocantins, Brazil
Castelnavia noveloi C. T. Philbrick & C. P. Bove is distinguished from other species of Castelnavia Tulasne & Weddell (Podostemaceae) based on the production of stems arising perpendicular from the leaf petiole (petiolar stems) and the flattened rachis of the pinnate leaves. The new species is only known from rio Taquarussu, east of the town of Taquarussu, Tocantins, Brazil
Perceptions of School Counselors and School Administrators with Respect to the Roles of School Counselors as they Implement the New York State Comprehensive School Counseling Model
This dissertation contains 183 pages.The proposed study examined the perceptions of school counselors and administrators towards the New York State School Counseling Model. The study focused on (a) actual and preferred counselor activities to provide direction on how school counselors are defining their practice and (b) counselors' and administrators' perceptions of how the New York State Comprehensive Model is implemented into school counseling practice.
A sample of the New York State school counselor population (n = 900) was invited to participate in a survey in obtaining quantitative data. The School Counseling Activity Rating Scale and an adapted New York State version of the Readiness Survey were sent to participants by mail. A matching sample of high school administrators was sent the Readiness Survey to ascertain their perceptions of the New York Comprehensive Model.
A multiple regression and a two-group MANOVA or Hotelling's T2 were conducted as methods in data analysis in this research. Results indicated a significant correlation for preferred school counseling activity subscales of curriculum, coordination, and non-guidance when the independent variable of readiness was entered as a block.
Furthermore, results indicated a significant correlation for preferred school counseling activity subscales of counseling and consultation when each independent variable, readiness components and actual activities were entered as a block. Results of the MANOVA indicated that community support, leadership, staff time, and district resources showed a significant multivariate impact between school administrators and school counselors
IMPACT OF PROBLEM FINDING ON THE QUALITY OF AUTHENTIC OPEN INQUIRY SCIENCE RESEARCH PROJECTS
Problem finding is a creative process whereby individuals develop original ideas for study. Secondary science students who successfully participate in authentic, novel, open inquiry studies must engage in problem finding to determine viable and suitable topics. This study examined problem finding strategies employed by students who successfully completed and presented the results of their open inquiry research at the 2007 Connecticut Science Fair and the 2007 International Science and Engineering Fair. A multicase qualitative study was framed through the lenses of creativity, inquiry strategies, and situated cognition learning theory. Data were triangulated by methods (interviews, document analysis, surveys) and sources (students, teachers, mentors, fair directors, documents). The data demonstrated that the quality of student projects was directly impacted by the quality of their problem finding. Effective problem finding was a result of students using resources from previous, specialized experiences. They had a positive self-concept and a temperament for both the creative and logical perspectives of science research. Successful problem finding was derived from an idiosyncratic, nonlinear, and flexible use and understanding of inquiry. Finally, problem finding was influenced and assisted by the community of practicing scientists, with whom the students had an exceptional ability to communicate effectively. As a result, there appears to be a juxtaposition of creative and logical/analytical thought for open inquiry that may not be present in other forms of inquiry. Instructional strategies are suggested for teachers of science research students to improve the quality of problem finding for their students and their subsequent research projects.Doctor of Education (EdD)Education & Educational Psycholog
Heather Robbins Interview
I interviewed Jimmy Purrcell a war veteran from WWII.Jimmy Purrcell
Catholic War Veteran Associatio
James Lauber (interview)
19 min.Corporal USMC Iraq War Vet, Jimmy Lauber, wounded in Fallujah by a hand grenade. Member of C Company 1/25 Marines